


the kitchen is our common ground

by softboimp



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bucky preferes James, F/M, Hurt Bucky, Hurt OFC, Tony's daughter, all of the feels, but probs slow burn ftw, is in big trouble, like 2 dads ig, maybe eventual smut, soft Tony/Steve, whoops, with hydra
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-18
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-06-30 11:53:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,653
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19852618
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/softboimp/pseuds/softboimp
Summary: tony's daughter that no one knows about shows up at the avengers tower one night after escaping hydra. she is just trying to graduate from MIT and hide a secret from a tower full of superheroes. and for some reason one winter soldier keeps running into her, its almost like he's doing it on purpose...





	1. Chapter 1

Ava stares up at Stark Tower. She had made it but she wasn’t sure if she wanted to be here. The weather matched her mood, the sky dark and foreboding, soaking her through almost instantly. So much for good impressions with her father, Tony Stark. Upon stepping into the lobby the receptionist asked her politely yet with an upturned nose whether she had business with anyone that worked there.

“Yes, I do. Could you tell Tony Stark that Ava is here to see him?”

The receptionist gave her another once over before tapping her earpiece and delivering the message. Apparently the response was immediate because her eyes widened and she stood up at once, leading Ava to the nearest elevator and pressing the button. 

“My apologies, Jarvis will lead you up to Mr. Stark’s floor. Welcome to Stark Tower Ms. Ava.”

Ava stepped in hesitantly and the doors shut immediately behind her. What she assumed to be Jarvis spoke up immediately, “Hello Ava!” The A.I. sounded suspiciously jovial but Ava decided not to question it. The elevator was efficient and she barely felt the speed at which the elevator was traveling. All too soon the ‘ding’ indicated the doors were about to open and Ava took a deep breath, readying herself for the eventual slew of questions. She was not disappointed. It was her first time in the tower but it was everything she expected from Tony: sleek and modern. What she didn’t expect was the entire avengers team plus a few others to be assembled there. A brief moment of silence occurred as Ava stood silently dripping on the polished floor of the elevator. Then Stark brushed by Captain America and strolled up to her, pulling her into a brief and awkward hug. 

“Did Jarvis announce my presence to the entire tower?” Ava asked, bewildered by the group of super heroes still standing there. Steve and Sam were in front, looking intimidating with their crossed arms while Natasha and Clint whispered, peering around a wall to get a better look at her, and much farther back in the room she glimpsed Bucky, the winter soldier. 

Tony rubbed the back of his neck, “I think he’s excited because you’ve never been in the tower before and he’s always wanted to see you in person.” 

Their conversation seemed to unfreeze everyone in the room and they were almost on the point of converging upon Ava when she shook her head and jabbed at the lobby button in the elevator, “This was a bad idea, never mind,” she muttered. 

“Hey, hey, hey what’s going on? You obviously came here because you need something,” Tony jumped forward but Steve was quicker and his hand came down on the door, stopping it from closing. 

Ava twitched, flinching back from him and his sudden proximity to her. “No…no I need to go. This was definitely a mistake.” She backed into the corner and burrowed deeper into her oversized hoodie. 

“Hey, its okay, we’re not going to hurt you, we just need to talk to you,” Steve said consoling, opening his arms as a gesture of peace but Ava knew it was really just to prevent her slipping past him. 

“That’s exactly what they said to me,” Ava whispered back. She could sense Steve was about to act so she caught him by surprise, moving quicker than he expected and ducking passed him. She knew she wouldn’t get far and so wasn’t caught off guard when a strong hand grabbed the back of her hoodie and pulled hard. She was yanked off her feet and fell to the ground hard, her already throbbing ribs searing in her chest. 

The winter soldier was above her, his metal arm flexing slightly, “Sorry,” he muttered, “My arm calibration is a little off…didn’t mean to throw you.”

Ava gave a tiny nod, breathing in sharp little gasps to alleviate the pain in her chest. 

“Ava, what the hell is going on here!” Tony looked a little frightened by her behavior and crouched down next to her. He reached out and gently cupped her cheek. “You said you didn’t want to have a relationship with me, that you didn’t want to be connected with my name, so I backed off,” he whispered, even though the room was silent enough for everyone to hear. 

Ava grimaced and tried to laugh even though it came out strangled. “Oh please, I was a teenager going through a rebellious faze, of course I said that.”

Tony smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. He was sad, and she could feel it. “If my math is correct, and its me so of course it is, you are still a teenager. That angst shouldn’t really leave until early twenties if my youth was anything to judge by.”

Ava’s shoulders slumped. She knew the consequences of coming here and she had come anyway, now it was time to face the music. Sighing, she laid down, since it was more comfortable on the floor anyway and helped the discomfort of her ribs. “I’m in deep shit dad,” she said softly, addressing the ceiling. She could hear the avengers coming closer now that she wasn’t actively trying to run away. She felt numb, their emotions passing through her without her caring what they meant. 

“What kind of shit.” Tony’s voice was serious. 

Her eyes glazed over slightly but she didn’t cry. “Mom went completely crazy and—” 

“Stark,” Bucky’s soft voice interrupted her. “She doesn’t look so good. Maybe she should be checked out by Banner before we learn what’s been goin on.”

Ava stared accusingly at Bucky. “Excuse me, I look completely fine and—” She was cut short again when Bucky gently nudged at her ribs with his boot. Fire burned its way up her rib cage and she sucked in a breath. 

“See.” Bucky deadpanned. 

—

“Well, she definitely has your self preservation skills Tony,” Banner remarked as he gently bound Ava’s ribs. “I would give you a lecture about how to care for your two broken and four bruised ribs but I think I will find that you will listen just about as well as Tony.”

Tony shrugged, “I guess it runs in the family.” 

Ava looked over at Steve who was hovering by Tony’s elbow. She could sense an overwhelming amount of love and protectiveness coming from him and she was sure it wasn’t for her or Banner. 

“So, Ava, will you please tell me what is going on. Seriously.” Tony had turned serious again, his hand on the blanket covering her legs. 

Ava took a deep breath. “Uh…how do I start…” she addressed the ceiling because it was easier to explain how she came to be in this state while not talking to anyone directly. “I’m at MIT getting my masters in engineering and coding right now.”

“Wait, you’re at MIT, isn’t that where you went Tony?” Steve asked. 

Tony smiled proudly, “Like I said, it runs in the family.”

“But you look pretty young to be getting two masters right now…how old are you?”

Ava rolled her eyes, used to this line of questioning. “I’m nineteen.”

Steve’s eyebrows shot up but Tony shot him a glance. “Well what did you expect from my daughter? Now shut the fuck up I’m listening.”

Ava half snorted, “Alright…well I hadn’t seen mom in a while. We didn’t really part very well when I first got accepted to college. I swear I had only seen her a couple times in over six years. But the last time I saw her I felt…that something was different. She was secretive and angry and lying to me about seemingly inconsequential things. I left shortly after that and six months later she calls me out of the blue and apologizes about how she acted and begged me to come over for spring break.” Ava paused for a moment and clicked her tongue nervously. Tony put a comforting hand over hers but she pulled it away a moment later and clenched it in her lap. “I went back over spring break like she asked, “she continued, her voice notably subdued. “The first day was fine, she wanted to go shopping and grab dinner. But the whole time it seemed like she was keeping herself in check. That night I-I was getting ready to go to bed when I sensed-heard something that didn’t sound like mom. I snuck up to the door to hear what was going on when it burst open and these fucking people dressed in black like fucking ninjas came in and tried to shoot me with a tranquilizer. I was able to evade them for a moment, enough to get out of the bedroom, and I almost made it to the door when…mom came flying out of no where looking completely batshit crazy and grabbed my hair and threw me into the door and kept me still enough for them to pump me full of tranqs.” 

Ava glanced up and Tony’s mouth was slightly agape. Whatever trouble he had expected her to be in, this definitely hadn’t occurred to him. 

“So anyway, I woke up disoriented, confused, you know the drill. And I know you really don’t want to know this but…it was HYDRA. They did their little experiments on me, they really just wanted me to program some hellish weapon but I didn’t.”

“Wait they experimented on you? How did you get away? Are you hurt more than just your ribs? Brucey-bear check her out, I can’t believe this, we need to get Bucky in here and—“ 

Steve placed his arm around Tony’s waist and squeezed it slightly. “Tony she’s here, she’s safe, she’s alive. Bruce can check her out, but it will be alright. We’ll deal with this the same way we’ve dealt with everything else.”

This seemed to calm Tony down enough for him to nod to Banner and say, “We’ll be outside so you can…” he gestured to Ava, giving her a swift one-armed hug before leaving the room with Steve.


	2. panic attack

Ava shifted nervously on the white bed as Banner considered her thoughtfully. “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable and think I’m reading into things but I did notice that you said you sensed things from people like emotions. That you were almost able to tell what they were about to do before they actually did it.”

Taken by surprise, Ava could only stare wide-eyed at Banner. “Now if this is true,” he continued as if he was discussing something as casual as the weather, “You can absolutely tell that I mean you no harm. I only want to help you. I am great friends with your father and I’m truly honored to meet his daughter. Now. Can you tell me a little more about what HYDRA subjected you too so I can help you?”

Ava ducked her head and gripped the bedsheet in one hand, her tongue clicking against the roof of her mouth. “It doesn’t really work like that,” she murmured to the bed. 

Banner leaned forward on his elbows, “Are you talking about your abilities?”

“Yah.”

“Maybe you’d like to expound upon your…talents, if you feel safe talking about it.”

“Are you going to tell anyone?”

“Not if you don’t want me too.”

“I’d rather not having everyone know.”

Banner sighed and crossed his legs, “if you insist, but this is one of the best environments to say you do have some sort of ability because everyone who lives here is special in some way.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Of course, in your own time. But, were you going to explain it to me?”

“I guess, as long as you’re not telling anyone. It’s not like this super great ability, and it's not certain either. I can tell that you’re open and curious right now and that you haven’t been lying while you’ve been talking to me. The other part…the whole seeing what people are going to do before they do them…” Ava sighed thoughtfully, trying to talk about something she had never mentioned to anyone before. “It’s like this feeling I get sometimes, usually in high stress situations. I’ve been reading emotions for as long as I can remember and sometimes I can tell when someone is planning on doing something right before they do it. I can’t see the future really…its really hard to explain.”

“No, no, I definitely understand. It seems like maybe you have a little in common with a certain spiderman, not sure if you’ve heard of him?”

“Aw man,” a small smile broke through her furrowed brow, “I love that kid.”

Bruce was surprised, “you’ve met him?”

Ava was quick to assume her facade of indifference, “I haven’t really, I just keep up to date on his social media.”

Well-used to Tony’s superior lying faces, Banner wasn’t convinced in the slightest but decided to drop the topic. “Okay so you can sense emotions. Did HYDRA know about this?”

“No, I suspect they would have treated me much differently if they had known.”

“Well that actually brings me to my next question because I want to make sure you are okay. Do you want to tell me what HYDRA did to you?”

The silence was nearly deafening. Ava’s face had gone blank, her eyes had a faraway look in them, and she bit her lip so hard that blood trickled down her chin. A second later she wiped it away. “No, I don’t.”

“But it could really help—,” Banner tried.

“I really, really don’t.”

Her words stopped him from pleading further. “How long did they have you?”

“Long enough.”

She had closed up completely now, limiting all her answers and Banner supposed his line of questioning was at an end. 

“Okay, well I’m just going to scan you and make sure you’re alright and then you’re good to go.” Banner gently laid Ava back and then commenced the scan. It barely made a sound but Ava immediately remembered a clinical white room and so many tests. And scans. And blood. And someone else that was talking to her, threatening her, and someone else screaming and she couldn’t leave, she couldn’t get away because she was locked in and all of a sudden she was in water and it was hot, boiling, then icy cold and she couldn’t breathe and her brain was going to explode—a cold hand gently landed on her arm. Ava couldn’t breathe, she was still being held underwater, but the hand was gentle, tender, but also hard, like it was made out of metal. The fingers stroked the crook of her elbow and then tightened slightly. She heard someone murmuring in a deep rumbling voice but she couldn’t tell who it was. 

All of a sudden Ava was back in Banner’s lab, but the bed she had been on was nowhere in sight, and she became aware of hard tiled ground under her and she still couldn’t breathe, her chest was tight and her throat constricting and all that was holding her to reality was an actual metal arm attached to a winter soldier with hulking shoulders and sad grey eyes that were almost obscured by long brown hair. 

“Breathe любить,” he said, taking one of her hands that was clenched into a fist and bringing it to his own chest. “Breathe.” He took a deep breath, his fingers prying her own apart so that her hand lay flat against his sternum. She mimicked him and trembled when air rushed into her lungs. “хорошо, Ava, хорошо.” She took another breath and it felt just as good as the first. They continued to breathe opposite one another until Ava realized she was practically sitting in his lap and she moved to jump up but Bucky’s metal arm held her right where she was. “It’s okay. Расслабиться.” 

“I-I can’t…I—” she was still trying to flee the scene, trying to understand what was happening. 

The winter soldier glowered at her, “Did you not understand what I just said?” 

Ava slumped back down in his grasp, letting him hold her. “You said to relax but it's a little fucking hard to do when I freaking the fuck out for no goddamn reason.” Her explanation ended harsher than she intended but he didn’t seem to be offended, just slightly surprised. 

“You know Russian?”

“Enough.” She shifted slightly, her head now resting against his broad chest. “Can I move yet?” She complained, just for something to do, because he was actually surprisingly comfortable and it seemed he was built just like Steve Rodgers, or maybe even better. Not that she cared. 

“You just did дурак.” 

She pulled away forcefully, tilting her head back to glare at him, “Was that necessary? You were being all sweet in Russian when you didn’t know I spoke it.”

His deadpan expression was all she received as an answer but his hold on her relaxed and he stood swiftly, helping her to her feet. He watched her carefully as Ava swayed for a moment, trying to get her equilibrium back. She was steady a moment later and he dropped his hands against his sides. 

“Well…thanks Bucky…uh…Winter Soldier…person.”

The slightest hint of a smile tilted his lips up, “You can call me James.”

“Well, you can call me Ava.”

“I already did.”

Ava stared at him for a second before rolling her eyes, a slightly awkward silence following before she decided to leave. James caught her arm and his light grey eyes bore into hers. “You should eat something. I could feel every notch in your spine.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Okay creepy, I just got out of captivity, I’m sure there will be opportunities for me to eat more.”

“Be sure that you do.”

James was about to leave when Banner ran into the room followed closely by Tony and Steve. “She was right there…oh…I guess Barnes helped her.” Banner’s wildly waving arms fell to his sides as he realized Ava was no longer in the midst of a panic attack. 

“Are you okay?” Tony asked her, worry still present in his eyes. Ava felt guilty she had brought all this stress to his home and his clearly happy life. 

“Yah, of course I am,” she brushed off his concern easily. Next to her, James stiffened and she glared furiously at him, trying to tell him to let it go without actually opening her mouth. 

“Actually Stark she’s—“ he expertly avoided her well-placed foot stomp and elbow jab, “in real need of a therapist and maybe some of the other stuff you did for me to sort of get my head on straight. Being captured by HYDRA is no small issue.”

“You motherfucker…” Ava muttered at him, annoyed he couldn’t just keep his mouth shut.

Banner raised his eyebrows. “See? No self-preservation at all. Definitely Tony’s daughter.”

Steve came up behind Tony and wrapped his arms around him. “We’re working on that, aren’t we Tony?”

Tony rolled his eyes but said consolingly, “Of course we are…”

Ava interjected before Tony and Steve could progress much further. She knew she definitely didn’t like Steve after he had left her father for dead in a hidden HYDRA base in Siberia. She also had no idea why her father had forgiven Steve and now was apparently dating him as well. “So I guess I really just need a place to stay low for a little bit until HYDRA stops looking for me and then I can go on way.”

“Excuse me young lady you will do no such thing.” Tony shrugged out of Steve’s grasp and confronted Ava. 

She crossed her arms, “I didn’t come here to become your official daughter and play nice with the avengers. I came here because I unfortunately didn’t have anywhere else to go and that doesn’t give you an excuse to try to run my life!”

“That enough teenage angst for you Tones?” Steve asked, trying to keep the atmosphere light. His expression melted away when Ava narrowed her eyes at him, her frustration and trauma and stress starting to overwhelm her. 

“Oh hell no, don’t let me get started with you Captain fucking America. Who the fuck do you think you are after leaving my dad to DIE in Siberia? What gives you the right to come back here, to try to pursue a relationship with him after that? What the fuck?” She punctuated each curse with another threatening step forward, and even though Steve towered over her, he still took a tentative step back. 

“Hey now doll, let’s just talk about this.” Ava struggled against the metal hand that landed on her shoulder. 

“Get off me Barnes,” she hissed, shrugging him off. He tried to apprehend her again but she focused on him and could sense where he intended to move and did the opposite, easily evading him. 

Again, there was an uneasy silence. “Honey, I will really try to respect your boundaries and your independence but I need to keep you safe. And we can explain this whole,” Tony gestured between himself and Steve, “thing…but also good lord Barnes, is the Winter Soldier losing his touch or is my daughter just freaky fast, I can’t tell.”

James was looking at Ava with an expression she really didn’t like, as if he was trying to figure out what HYDRA had really done to her. He looked as if he had a few guesses and all of them were too close to the truth. She glanced hurriedly away, breaking his stare and looked over at Tony, all the fight drained from her. She was just tired. 

Ava shrugged, “Fine.”

Tony clapped his hands together resoundingly. “About as good as I thought we would get. You look like you could sleep for a week so how about I lead you to a bed. I guarantee you’ll feel better in the morning.” He turned and headed towards the elevator, Steve following him closely, head bowed. Banner was also giving her a contemplative look before he handed her a small vial. 

“This is for a deep sleep. No one sleeps well after captivity.”

Ava took it silently, following the others to elevator, swaying slightly as her exhaustion truly took over her. She felt a whisper of concern accompanied by the slightest graze of a hand on her waist. “Leave me alone Barnes,’’ she didn’t turn to look at him but knew he had fallen behind her only a couple paces. 

Maybe Tony was right and she would feel better in the morning, but she doubted it. There was no way HYDRA’s infiltration in her life would be cleaned up this easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> любить (love)  
> хорошо (good)  
> Расслабиться (relax)  
> дурак (idiot)


	3. don't break the toaster

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lil angsty, but more Bucky in the future I swear

Ava was going to talk to Banner in the morning, because this special sleep elixir wasn’t strong enough for her apparently. She was wandering around at three in the morning, exploring her surroundings sounding better than staring at the dark ceiling of her bedroom. It seemed that each floor had a couple of bedrooms, small living rooms and kitchens, but then there was a level that was entirely devoted to living space and the largest kitchen she had ever seen in her life. She guessed this was where the avengers hung out the most because there were strange notes on the appliances explaining how to use them. There were dents in the walls as if a body had been thrown hard into them, but she supposed rough-housing with superhuman and aliens usually got rough quickly. 

The second she stepped into the open, spacious kitchen, her eyes immediately sought out the coffee maker. It looked expensive and complicated, but she was an expert and soon the gentle sounds of percolating coffee filled the silence. A pink note on the toaster caught her attention and she bent closer to it to read it: ‘Thor do not throw me!’ She snorted, wondering how many toasters Thor had thrown before he needed to be reminded not to do so. Once her coffee was done she thought about exploring the tower more but decided against it, preferring to start working on her thesis so she could graduate from MIT and not be stuck there another year for no good reason. Hurriedly procuring her laptop from her ratty backpack in her room, she sat crosslegged at the island in the kitchen and started coding her project. She was so engrossed in her work she failed to sense another presence intensely staring at her before leaving as silently as he had arrived. 

—

Ava only woke up because she was so uncomfortable. Her legs were sleeping, her neck and back were on fire, and her ribs obviously didn’t appreciate her hunched over position because they were steadily burning with every breath she took. On top of everything else, she heard whispers to her left, the smell of coffee, and gentle popping sounds of something cooking. Slowly straightening from her ridiculous position, Ava realized she had fallen asleep while coding in the kitchen, the kitchen where it was now morning and Steve and Sam were tiptoeing around cooking up a breakfast feast. Her spine popped at least ten times and she scrubbed her hands over face, trying to wipe away her exhaustion. 

“Wow that sounded both great and like you don’t have a spine anymore.” 

Ava flinched back and looked around, seeing Clint sitting right next to her. “Uh…yah,” she mumbled, eyelids feeling like they were weighing her face down. 

“Not a morning person. I respect that. Tash isn’t either. Which is why you don’t have to speak, just drink up.” He slid a mug in her direction, steaming coffee slopping over the rim and landing on the counter. Ava shot him a grateful glance before cupping the mug tightly in both hands and huddling over it taking big sips. 

“Oh great, we have another addict over here,” Sam called out.

“Why is Sam shouting again?” A quiet voice asked.

“Hey Bucky, did you sleep alright?” Steve asked, sounding concerned.

“Yah, sure. Is there something in particular he’s shouting about or is he just doing it because he’s an asshole?”

“Hey language.”

“Yah language, cap said it you got it, I just called out Ava here because of her clear and present caffeine addiction,” Sam said smugly.

James walked over to the coffee machine and poured a cup for himself, staring at Sam the entire time, then raised the mug to his lips, slurping the hot liquid loudly. “Whatever kinda addiction she has it can’t be worse than Tony’s.” He silently slid into the open seat on the other side of Ava and looked at her notes strewn around her computer. 

Ava felt slightly uncomfortable around such a close-nit team but James knocked his knee against hers and Steve placed three golden brown pancakes in front of her, butter and syrup melting into a steaming puddle on the plate. Clint looked like a five year old as Steve heaped a significantly larger portion on his plate. 

“Did you sleep at all?” James murmured to her over the sounds of breakfast.

Ava rubbed her eyes tiredly, “I guess I was out for a couple hours but once I woke up, I knew I wasn’t going back to sleep.”

James’s clear grey eyes met hers and she sensed a strong wave of concern from him. “If it helps…I’ve been through a lot with HYDRA so if you need someone to talk to…” he trailed off as she shifted uneasily. 

“I’m good, don’t worry about it.”

James arched an eyebrow at her. “Sure you are.”

Ava thought because of her cold dismissal he would in the very least move away from her but he stayed next to her, arm brushing hers occasionally when he sipped his coffee. Ava gradually relaxed bit by bit, her shoulders dropping slightly and her hands relaxing around her mug. She missed the look shared between Steve and Sam and the thumbs up that Clint threw James. James rolled his eyes at them and ducked his head down to finish his pancakes. Tony wandered into the kitchen wrapped in a blanket, his hair sticking out all directions. Sam, Clint, and James all conversed with each other, letting Steve and Tony have their moment on the other side of the kitchen. Ava glanced from them to the three men gathered around her. Sam caught her questioning look.

“When Steve and Tony became a thing they were disgusting for each other so now we just give them a little space in the morning and we don’t have to deal with as much sappiness.”

Ava wanted to say a lot, she wanted to know when exactly this relationship had started, how soon after the so-called civil war. But she held her tongue. She didn’t want to destroy the calm atmosphere, even if her own peace had been ruined. If the ex-assassin, spy, or veteran noticed anything they didn’t mention it. 

“Well,” Ava stood up and stretched, wincing slightly when her ribs twinged, “I’m going to get some work done so…” she gathered up her dishes and threw them in the dishwasher, turning around only to be met with Steve’s broad chest. Instantly on the alert, Ava took a swift step back, squaring up her shoulders, searching his emotions for his intentions. 

“I was just wondering if maybe you’d like to come to the gym with us? We normally go work out after breakfast.” He spoke like he was talking to a small frightened animal. 

Glancing over she asked, “Are you all going too?”

They nodded quickly and Ava glanced at Steve. “Sure.”

Tony capped his hands together, “Great! Bonding sweaty times, and not in a sexual way. I love it. Ava I need to talk to you for a little bit and then by all means please go work out with these lovely supersoldiers.” He slapped Steve’s bicep as he said this, smiling cheekily up at him. 

“Do you need to talk to me about my situation? Because you can do it with everyone around, I’m sure they’ll find out one way or another.”

There was a brief uncomfortable silence proving her right before Tony shrugged, “That’s fine, as long as you’re comfortable.”

Ava hopped onto the counter and leaned over to grab her mug of coffee. “Alright, let's hear it.”

“Well, let me start by saying you literally did the smartest thing by coming here after you escaped HYDRA. They are a very…efficient group so if you had gone anywhere else they would have found you easily.”

“Do they know I’m here now?” Ava interrupted.

“I’ve been in contact with SHIELD and they haven’t seen any activity focused towards us but I think its safe to assume they know where you are, “Clint said, hands in his pockets.

“But they have also known where I have been for the past year and they haven’t tried to get me back, not that they could,” James included, face hard. 

“HYDRA knows how foolish and dangerous it would be for them to try to come in here and capture you. And we don’t even know if they want to, but that’s not the point of this conversation.” Tony lowered his voice slightly. “I went to see your mom, Christy.”

Ava’s stomach dropped. Her knuckles turned white around her mug. Her last memory of her mother was too fresh in her mind. “What-what did she say?”

“Well, that’s the thing, she is not…alive anymore.” A ringing was building in Ava’s ears and it was really hard to concentrate on what Tony was saying. He had laid his hand on her knee, in what she surmised to be a parental gesture. “I went to her place and there was a coroner there and a clean up crew…they said it was a suicide but when HYDRA is involved we have to assume it was murder.”

Ava tried to swallow but her throat was too dry and her tongue stuck to the top of her mouth. She didn’t know what to say. Of course she hadn’t loved her mother, she had barely seen her for years, and they had never been close. But Ava had never wished her mother to die. “So what,” she cleared her throat, her voice sounding gravelly, “what do I do about that? Do I have to do anything?”

Tony squeezed her knee, “I’m funding a funeral, nothing big and flashy, just small, friends and family. If you want to go you can, if not then just stay safe here.”

Ava swallowed hard but nodded. “Yeah, I’ll go, just tell me when.”

“That’s great.” Tony came up and kissed the top of her head. “I’m really sorry,” he whispered. Ava just nodded her head again, not really trusting herself to speak. After a big sigh Tony took a step back. “So I am thinking the safest way to avoid HYDRA capturing you again is for you to stay here, we have agents working on this, hell we’ve been trying to eliminate HYDRA for a long while now.”

“So you want me to just stay here and hide while I’m trying to finish my masters? I’m not going to put my life on hold just because some fucking dumbass organization wants to experiment on me.”

To her left Steve murmured something that sounded a lot like ‘language.’

“Um, my dear that’s exactly why you should be putting your life on hold, maybe even the very definition.”

“No! I literally…” Ava jumped down from the counter, suddenly wishing that she had accepted Tony’s offer for privacy and they were alone. “Tony,” she whispered, “I have just escaped HYDRA. I don’t know how to fucking deal with all of this but working helps, doing what I know, finishing my projects so I can graduate. I need to do what I know…” she looked at him pleadingly, knowing that everyone could still hear her despite her lowered tone. 

Tony looked at her, his eyes far away, his mouth pulled down into a grimace as if he was remembering something very unpleasant. “I do understand,” he whispered back, his voice almost choked. “Let me think about it Ava. You know I just want you to be safe, you’re my only daughter.”

Ava pulled him into a hug, resting her chin on his shoulder. “I know.”


	4. you never let me do anything

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> plz leave a comment or a kudos :)

Ava set a steady rhythm around the indoor track which wove around a huge square matted center where she assumed the avengers sparred with each other, and all of the other gym equipment. Steve and James immediately squared up in the center, half-heartedly dodging and punching eachother. Ava kept glancing over, making sure to keep an eye on them. She was on edge. There were a lot of factors that had brought her to this point, and she felt like she was walking on a razor-thin wire that could snap at any moment. And if it snapped, she wasn’t sure where she would end up. Sam fell into rhythm next to her. 

“I run a lot too, but not around those two,” he said jerking his head over at the two super soldiers that were getting a little more serious about hand-to-hand combat. Ava watched as Steve summersaulted over James’s head to avoid a blow that would have leveled any normal human. “See what I mean? They’re ridiculous. But they also are two of the best people I know, they push you to be better.” Ava didn’t answer, preferring to run in silence then talk more about feelings. She had said much more about her emotions over the past day than she had in years and felt drained. But running was good for her system. The constant pound of her feet against ground kept the thoughts from her head, and let her drift and forget about the problems pressing in around her. “I get it, you don’t want to talk about it, but I do want to say I’m sorry about your mom. I know you two weren’t super close and it makes your relationship complicated, but nonetheless…I’m sorry.”

Ava looked over at Sam, his wide brown eyes sincere. “Uh…thank you.” She picked up her pace slightly and he caught up with her again. “Are you going to keep following me this whole time?” She asked somewhat abrasively.

Sam quirked a smile. “I’m being gracious enough to accompany you. You might think being alone is the best thing for you right now, but I can at least run with you, maybe do some weightlifting, build a little muscle, am I right?” He nudged her arm and she rolled her eyes in annoyance but continued to run alongside him silently. 

The calming zen that had overcome her mind was eventually interrupted by the intense sounds coming from James and Steve who were clearly not pulling their punches and were in the midst of an intense battle. Since no one else looked concerned she stopped running to watch them move almost faster than she could follow. With each kick and punch and leap they both seemed to get more energy, even now they were both grinning at each other. The fight suddenly ended when James somehow had Steve face down on the mat and he tapped out. James raised his arms triumphant as Steve picked himself up, brushing off imaginary dust, and acting as if nothing had happened. The next moment they were both slapping each other’s back, laughing at some inside joke and Ava turned around, puzzled by the whole affair, and headed towards Sam who had ignored the spectacle and had been lifting weights the entire time. 

“Ava, hey, you wanna try it out?” She turned towards Steve.

“I don’t need to learn how to fight.”

Steve’s open expression didn’t change. “It can be helpful, especially when HYDRA is after you.”

Ava narrowed her eyes at him, “I can take care of myself.”

James came up next to Steve, his stance relaxed and a light sheen of sweat covering him. “Ignore Steve, let’s see what you can do, huh?” He beckoned to her. For some reason she nodded without thinking and found herself in the center of the large black mat facing James. He widened his stance and she mirrored him. “Have you done this before?”

“I’ve protected myself on occasion.”

James’s eyes flared but she wasn’t sure why, his emotions were hard to read in that moment. He prowled over to her and adjusted her stance slightly. “You’re small, but you have real advantage if you’re fast.” His metal hand rested gently over her ribs. “Hold power in your core-“ his flesh hand trailed down her left wrist. “-strike hard and fast.” He stepped back and she released a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. “Your target will be down before they know what happened.”

He moved suddenly, his arm just a silver blur but his emotions were suddenly very easy to see and her mind jumped into action, expanding, sensing where his fist was going to land. Ava caught Bucky’s metal hand an inch away from her chest and shoved it away from her hard, knowing her strength was nothing compared to his. She read the astonishment easily that followed her quick reaction but James disregarded it and immediately pushed harder, making it even more difficult for Ava to block each jab. They stepped forward and back in a violent dance, and Ava’s arms began to tire and numb from the force of James’s punches. Jumping back to avoid his kick, she was able to catch a breath, sinking into a crouch. Even James held back a moment, “You’re not bad at defense, but what about offense?” He gracefully leaped the distance between them and Ava, caught off guard, wildly threw up her defenses but he easily got around them and before she knew it she was in a headlock. His metal hand got caught up in her hair, pulling it sharply and the room suddenly disappeared in front of her to be replaced by a dingy apartment lit only by a lamp that was too far away. Her mom was suddenly running at her, a terrible snarl and bloodshot eyes disfiguring her aging face. A garbled scream was tearing from her throat as she leapt at Ava, catching only her hair and yanking hard bringing her crashing against the door. Ava’s vision was obscured in black again before the training room in the avengers tower swam into view. Faces surrounded her, they all looked shocked or concerned, maybe even afraid, it was hard to tell, she couldn’t discern anything. Her mind was still filled with her mother’s screams, her scalp was still burning from James’s grip. 

“Let. Go.” She hissed at him, venom in her tone. He didn’t move a muscle and she heard a voice to her left.

“Ava, can you hear me? You’re safe, you need to drop the knife now.”

Ava shook her head slightly, trying to ground herself, the room came in sharper now, she became aware of her right hand that was clenching a pocket knife she kept on her in case of emergencies that was currently pressed right against the main artery in James’s neck. Her breath quickened, but her hand remained perfectly still and certain. 

Another voice from her right said, “Ava. I know you can hear me now, I’m going to take the knife alright?” Ava blinked and looked up, right into the grey and blue eyes staring at her. James’s eyes were enough to unfreeze her muscles and she dropped her arm, snapping the knife closed. Sam held his hand out and she hesitated before dropping the small knife into his palm. A sigh of relief came from Steve and Clint while James gently guided her closer so he could untangle her unruly hair from around his hand. The second she felt herself free she turned and walked out, feeling the stares of the four men until she reached the door and swung it closed behind her. 

\--

Ava tried sleeping for a couple hours until Jarvis alerted her that dinner was ready in the common room. 

“I’m not hungry.”

“Sir says if you don’t get your…posterior down for dinner he is coming up to get you with Mr. Rodgers.”

Ava sat up, her hair a fluffy cloud around her head. “He wouldn’t.”

“I’m afraid sir would.”

Ava glared up at the ceiling before conceding. “Tell Tony I’ll be down in a second.” Slipping off the bed, she grabbed her hoodie she had come in with and shrugged it over her head, immediately feeling safer. 

\--

She had thought because of small mental break in the training room that the avengers would treat her differently, or at least be more cautious around her. But when the doors to the elevator opened and she stepped out into a very boisterous atmosphere no one even noticed at first until Tony looked around and spotted her. 

“Well it’s about time. I thought I was going to have to trek up there and come find you with Steve.”

Ava gave him a long-suffering look and muttered, “That won’t be necessary.”

Clint clapped his hands together excitedly. “Great, now that you’re finally here we can eat!”

Natasha elbowed him, “Don’t be rude. Control yourself.”

Clint gave her tearful eyes, “But I’m starving.” 

Hiding a smile Ava walked around the table to the empty seat which was conveniently in-between to James and Sam. 

“Okay, she sat down, can I eat now?” Clint asked almost in desperation.

“Nope, first I want everyone to go around the table and say one thing they’re thankful for,” Tony said with a very serious expression.

“YOU HAVE GOT TO BE JOKING,” Clint exploded.

Tony smirked, “You’re right, I am.”

Sighing in relief Clint fell on the food with a vigor that surprised only Ava because apparently this was a common sight. 

Ava pushed the spaghetti around on her plate until Sam nudged her elbow. “You know you’re supposed to eat that, right?”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t say anything. “That’s not the first time someone has held a knife to my throat,” James said next to her. 

“Yah remember that time I didn’t like you and so I climbed into your room via air ducts and threatened you with my super sharp arrows?” Clint grinned at James with a mouthful of food.

“Oh and remember that one time that Tony was mad at you and tried to kill you in Siberia?” Natasha asked with a straight face.

“And remember that time you were being chased by an international terrorist group named after a mythical monster?” Tony joined in.

“Okay I get it, James is used to being in danger, it doesn’t change how I feel about accidentally attacking him in the training room.” Ava kneaded 

There was a moment of silence and then Clint grinned, “It was great though. We all thought you were just going to be a normie, a civilian, and then you surprise us all by trying to kill Bu-James, fucking brilliant.”

The look of pure and innocent joy on Clint’s face made Ava grin slightly and Clint reached over to fist bump Ava. “That’s what I’m talking about, nothing to worry over.”

“Speaking of things, I know tomorrow is Monday,” Tony said with an authoritative tone. 

“Wow Stark, you’re getting smarter everyday,” Clint smirked.

“And since,” Tony glared at Clint to shut him up, “tomorrow is Monday I know you want to go to class since spring break is over. But you absolutely cannot go by yourself. So I’m letting one of these people at the dinner table volunteer to go with you.”

“I’ll do it,” James and Clint said at the same time. 

James raised an eyebrow, “I’ll do it.”

“No I will! I like her and we’d have a lot of fun together in a university setting,” Clint interrupted himself and rubbed his hands together vigorously, looking mischievous and excited, “I could climb up into a whole new network of air ducts and scare people.”

Tony narrowed his eyes at him and then addressed James, “Great, you’ll take her.”

“What?! No! You never let me do anything.”

Natasha tugged on Clint’s arm, “Come on, let’s go watch the Princess Bride, it always makes you feel better.”

Sulking Clint followed Nat’s swaying hips into the living room leaving the table much quieter in his absence. 

“Glad she did that before things escalated to a full blown temper tantrum,” Sam murmured.

“What time are you leaving tomorrow?” James asked Ava, as if he hadn’t been contending with Hawkeye, an avenger, for who got to be her glorified babysitter.

“Probably around seven.”

“I’ll make you some coffee.”

“Depending on if I fall asleep I might already have coffee.”

James brushed his knee against hers and stood up, “Great, I’ll make you some coffee,” and then left, depositing his plate in the sink. 

“Does he not hear me when I talk or is it selective hearing?”

“Believe me, it’s definitely selective…” Sam trailed off, looking after James thoughtfully.

“What’s wrong?”

Sam shook his head, “Nothing’s wrong, I just haven’t seen him act like this, or even talk this much. He used to be really into brooding all the time but now he seems…lighter.”

Ava shrugged and finally gave up on pushing her food around. Getting to her feet she was already in a creative mindset, thinking about all the ways she could improve her project before class tomorrow. She missed the knowing look Sam shot Steve and Tony.


	5. an unfortunate school experience

True to his word, James was waiting for Ava in the kitchen before seven, a cup of coffee on the counter waiting for her. He was wearing black jeans, black tshirt, and a black jacket, and was looking more brooding than usual. Ava nodded her thanks, slung her backpack over her shoulder, and strode to the elevator. She didn’t need to look over her shoulder to know that James was following her like a shadow. The ride on the train was uneventful although Ava thought her senses felt heightened, especially with James ever present at her shoulder. She was completely distracted from being paranoid by her professors who immediately sought her out and assuaged her with questions about her newest project. And while no one outright mentioned the presence of James there were a lot of questioning glances. In fact, everything was going so well that Ava was rather surprised when James gently tapped her, bringing her out of her work mode. 

“We have a problem. I was just called in for the Avengers. I have to go, and you have to come with me.” 

“But—“

“No, we have to leave.” James had his hand clamped around her shoulder and was already leading her to the door. 

Shoving her computer and papers back into her bag she called out to her bewildered professor, “I’ll email you the details.”

James marched her quickly down the hallways but the closer to the main entrance they got the more wary she became. Tugging herself from his grip she stopped. James looked back at her, his face hard, eyes sharp. “What are you doing? We need to get you to the tower so you’re safe.”

Ava couldn’t really explain her feeling, but she knew that if they continued this way it wouldn’t turn out well. “I don’t think we should go this way. We need to find a different exit.”

James stared at her, his winter soldier training clearly clashing with his ability to take advice from an untrained civilian. His moment of indecision cost them dearly because Ava felt a whisper in ear, her hair on the back of her neck stood up and she jerked almost unconsciously to the side. Something grazed her neck, a white hot pain blossomed, and she hit the nearest wall hard. James was in front of her, shielding her, bullets ricocheting from his metal arm. Sliding down, Ava crawled quickly to the nearest corner and threw herself behind it, James right behind her. He ducked down, pushing her chin to the side but she brushed him off. “It’s nothing.” Her wide green eyes stared into his blue but she didn’t see any of the familiar warmth she normally did. 

“Follow me.” James jerked her up by her forearm and hauled her behind him, checking around corners, pushing passed fleeing students, and sprinting down hallways. He had already tried contacting the avengers but had received no answer. “I think whoever is attacking us is also blocking all transmitting signals. We’re going to have to get out of here using a lesser known exit.”

“There’s one on the south side, only the faculty use it.”

“Lead the way.”

Ava moved as fast as she could while still trying to be stealthy. James followed, moving like the assassin was. When Ava finally reached the right door she motioned towards it and James ripped the handle out of the door with one pull. The room was silent, a few comfy chair scattered about, a microwave and sink in one corner along with a refrigerator that was humming softly. Two windows were set high in the wall along with a door that had a sign that said ‘key required for re-entry.’ Ava started towards the door but James stopped her with an arm around her waist. He had apparently devolved into full winter soldier mode. She looked carefully at him. “James, what is it?” She whispered.

“Quiet.”

Ava listened. Besides the hum of the refrigerator she couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. “What’s wr—“

The windows shattered, the door exploded inward, James tried to cover her but her head still bounced off the wall, hard. Her vision went black for a moment, shards of glass embedded themselves in any flesh that was unprotected. James was fighting the sudden horde of black clad soldiers that had poured in through the door. Ava watched him for a second, dazed until another sharp stab in her neck brought her back to herself. She tried to take the needle out of her neck that had somehow got there, a hulking man was crouching by her, holding her down as he injected something into her veins. Immediately she felt like she was floating, it was hard to concentrate and the man lifted her. She knew she should try to struggle and get away but her limbs were heavy. The white ceiling above her swayed and shifted, then suddenly it was a cloudy sky and there were drops of water falling on her face. Ava opened her mouth to catch some of the wetness in her mouth, leaning back farther, causing the arms holding her to adjust their grip on her. She heard shouts above her but they were garbled and she waved them away absently. The calm that had settled over her was jarred when the arms carrying her jerked twice and then she was falling through the air and landed on the concrete. A shiny metal arm was reaching for her, and then she was being pulled through the air again. Ava felt the air tugging on her, it felt like thick sluggish water around her. A sharp slap across her face jerked her once again to the present. Ice blue eyes were staring at her, she maybe recognized them, but she wasn’t sure. Something slapped her again and she blinked, trying to sit up, her head tilting too far to the side.

“Ava…Ava! Concentrate. Do you feel anything around us?”

“Who…you are?” She sighed. Talking words was so hard. The blue eyes said something else and she smiled, “you’re pretty.”

The blue eyes looked alarmed now and she was suddenly being shook almost violently but it seemed to knock some sense into her brain because she momentarily could see clearly. James obviously saw this and redoubled his efforts until she put a hand up on his chest and shoved him away. 

“They’re here, but I think only behind us…we need to move right now if we want to stay ahead.”

“Can you walk?”

“I…I don’t know. I’ll try.”

For what seemed the hundredth time, James pulled her up. He looked at her for a moment as she swayed back and forth, a vague smile on her face. “Looks like they shot you up with the good stuff. Stay quiet. Follow me.”

“Uh huh sure thing, I’m reaaalllllyyyy quiet don’t worry about it—“

“Shut the fuck up.”

Ava put a hand on his shoulder and followed him as quietly as she could. It was hard to concentrate and whenever she started to wander he put a hand over hers to pull her along. Buildings and people had long since dissolved into shapes and colors, light and dark. James never hesitated, guiding her through a maze. She had long since forgotten what they were doing or where they were going but dreamily trailed along behind…a man, with piercing blue eyes. They eventually stopped and she looked around. If she squinted she could sort of make out a towering flashy building with a name at the top that she couldn’t read. The man in front of her pulled her down into a crouch in a shadow. She tilted her head at him and pressed on his cheek with a finger.

“That’s where we have to go,” he said seriously. 

Ava made to get up, “let’s go then.”

He pulled her down by her forearms. “Not yet, I have a feeling that the people after us are waiting to pick us off once we try to get into the building.”

“There’s…people after us?”

The man kneaded his forehead in frustration. Ava tried to smooth away the wrinkles on his brow. “Don’t do that…” Blue eyes flicked up to hers and she leaned close to him. “I like your eyes.”

“You are so incredibly high right now.”

“I…mmm…yes.”

“Okay, when I say go, you need to run as fast as you can. Don’t look around just run.”

Ava was nodding even though it made her head hurt. “Yes, I’m running.” She reached out again and touched his lips. “Are you running with me?”

The man laid his hand over hers and she felt his mouth move under her fingers. “I am.” He stood and faced the building. She turned with him. When he whispered go she didn’t think, she just ran. She ran in the brightness, passed moving objects, went around unmovable ones, everything was turning into a rainbow of color. She was almost to the building when an alarm broke through the haze in her brain and she heard the sharp crack of a gun, pain in her leg that shunted her forward onto the ground. But she got up, unbothered, and was finally inside the shiny building, cool air washing over her face, a hand around her waist kept her moving forward. She couldn’t feel a single thing, she was floating now. The sounds and shapes didn’t matter as much anymore, but she could still hear.

“What the fu—“

“Where were y—“

“What’s wrong with he—“

She cracked open her eyes, the man was holding her still, his face blank. He started moving again, his walk jerky and not smooth like it used to be. She made a sound but couldn’t form actual words anymore. He looked down at her and she gave him a wide smile. He huffed and rolled his eyes but a small smile lifted the corner of his mouth. Ava had something she really needed to say so she tried again, “d-do…we…have to run…again?”

“No. We’re safe now.”

Ava’s eyes were already shut and she burrowed into the warmth of the man holding her and finally let herself drift.


End file.
